English for academic purposes in Israel: perceptions of e-learning from the perspectives of learners and teachers

• Authors: Bella Rubin;Helen Sarid
• Venue: UAHCI'07 Proceedings of the 4th international conference on Universal access in human-computer interaction: applications and services
• Year: 2007

This exploratory study investigates, from the perspectives of learners and teachers, how e-learning is implemented in the domain of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), particularly in the teaching of reading and writing skills in universities and colleges in Israel. The study adapts Ben Shneiderman's [1] view that learner-centered measures should be used to evaluate educational progress. The study was conducted in a natural setting, using a grounded approach and qualitative interpretation of data. Teachers who used e-learning responded to open-ended questions about their practices. Their students responded to open-ended questions which explored their perceptions of learning outcomes in academic language courses. To elicit in-depth reflection, volunteer students and teachers were interviewed. The findings may lay the groundwork for future studies exploring how e-learning affects students' learning strategies, teacher/student relationships, the very nature of the classroom, to name but a few theoretical and pedagogical issues encountered.